THE ISSUE: The Malden City Council voted 6-5 to appoint Jonathan Davis as the new Treasurer at its Nov. 14 meeting. WHY IT MATTERS: Following a stalemate vote, the city finally has a person in place to serve as overseer of municipal funds, payroll and accounts payable, among other financial responsibilities.

By Andrew Cardinalemalden@wickedlocal.com

After months of debate and several rounds of interviews, the Malden City Council voted 6-5 to appoint Jonathan Davis as the new Treasurer at its Nov. 14 meeting.

The vote came weeks after a stalemate, where the council needed its 11th member to break the tie between Davis and former City Councilor Neil Kinnon. Ironically, the person who filled Kinnon’s seat cast the deciding vote.

“We all know that this is an extremely important position,” said newly elected Ward 6 Councilor David Camell. Though just elected last week, Camell was able to take office immediately in accordance with the city charter due to the vacancy left by Kinnon. In that time, Camell reviewed all the relevant information in order to make an informed decision.

Camell said that he attended all but one of the public meetings held concerning this position, and watched a recording of the one he missed. He also was allowed to review the minutes of the lone executive session on the matter. All of that, plus some research into the finance of the MBTA, lead Camell to pick Davis, a former MBTA Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Director.

While he thanked Kinnon for his “humbleness and self-awareness” during the process, Camell explained that Davis’ experiences at the MBTA made him “battle hardened” in various financial aspects, including the handling of debt.

The appointment is subject to background and financial checks, a mayoral confirmation and successful contract negotiations with Davis.

While the advertisement for the role held the potential for an appointment to Chief Financial Officer, the council elected only to appoint Davis as Treasurer but could, subject to a probationary period, elevate him to CFO at a later date.

After the vote, Matheson made a motion to send a resolve to the mayor to find the funds, either in the next budget or prior, to have both a CFO and Treasurer on staff as opposed to one joint position. That passed 7-4, with Councilors Paul Condon, David D’Arcangelo, Debbie DeMaria and Craig Spadafora voting against. As resolves are non-binding, the mayor is not obligated to fund both positions.

Though he initially garnered some support on the council and was nominated to the position by O’Malley, Somerville Treasurer Michael Bertino removed himself from consideration prior to the second round of interviews, which occurred on Nov 1.